


Ombibulous

by askmeaboutmyoctopustheory



Series: clintucky fried chicken [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aromantic Natasha Romanov, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Walk Into A Bar, steve and thor being big blonde jocks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 13:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19724437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory/pseuds/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory
Summary: A bunch of jock-types walk into a hipster bar





	Ombibulous

**Author's Note:**

> hello my circle jerk of complaining/inserting my favorite characters into my own jobs continues
> 
> in which i am both bucky and clint lmao
> 
> rated teen for alcohol
> 
> title is old slang for love of alcohol 
> 
> as always find me on the twit @_amamot

“It’s about time, Buck. You’re late.”   
  


Bucky strolled into his shift at Red Room Speakeasy and Distillery to be greeted by the sharp tone of his favorite co-worker. He grinned anyway.

“Nice to see you too.”

“Don’t try and be suave with me. We’ve got a party coming in tonight to prepare for. It’s the boss’s niece or something.”

The Red Room was owned by Peggy Carter, who got her masters in History and, after working in the field for a few years, decided to open a prohibition-accurate speakeasy and gin distillery instead. She was a great boss, even stepping behind the bar if needed on busy nights. But she had asked them if they could handle her niece’s engagement party on a Thursday night that was bound to be busy anyway.

“Think of the tips Nat.”

Natasha and Bucky had been friends for a long time, finding and following each other somehow every time one of them moved. They were finally settling down in Brooklyn, happy with their jobs and lives at the moment. Many people thought they were together romantically, but that ship was far out of the harbor. Natasha put up with Bucky’s romantic tangles enough and never wanted to deal with her own. 

“Yeah, yeah I know.” 

They worked in companionable silence for a bit, chopping fruit for garnishes and lugging ice from the back room. Once the bouncer showed up and they had established the password for the night, they knew it was almost showtime. Bucky straightened his bow tie and suspenders and twisted his waxed mustache a bit. Natasha was adjusting her fishnets under her dress, the one thing she complained frequently about the job was the dress code. Peggy herself came out right before their 8pm open and gave them a once over.

“Thank you two so much for letting Sharon be here with her friends. They shouldn’t be too much trouble at all.”   
  
“It’s nothing Ms. Carter.” Natasha said, her sour tone from earlier gone. “I’m sure it will all go smoothly. How did your niece meet her fiance?”

“Oh. Sharon and Maria met doing rec sports in college. Most of their friends from their teams are still close and coming tonight.” Peggy smiled and poured herself a gin and tonic. “I do believe they are the first of their friend group to get married.” She said unsubtly with a lipstick-red smirk.

Bucky and Nat just laughed as she retreated to the office with her drink and a wink. Their boss had a severe demeanor and strict guidelines, but Natasha had once seen hints of colorful full-sleeve tattoos under the vintage suits Peggy usually wore. A stream of people arrived, apparently having found the password out through other area bartenders, and their night truly began.

Their usual clientele was hipster types and wannabe cocktail snobs. This contrasted greatly to the loud and boisterous crowd that came in a half hour after opening, with Peggy’s niece Sharon somewhere in the crowd. Sharon herded her friends into a far corner table and gave Natasha and Bucky a sympathetic look. 

“Why are they all so blonde?”   
  
“Why are they all so hot?” 

“I suppose they are your type yes.” Natasha mused as she watched the men in the group jostle each other a bit. “You always like the loud and sporty types. Remember when you made me pretend to be interested in football for a bit?”

Bucky just stuck his tongue out at her and went over to serve the confused looking beefcake squinting at their craft cocktails menu. “Hey there. You with Sharon’s group?”   
  
“Hi! Yeah, I don’t know what any of this is.” The guy grinned awkwardly. He and the long haired blonde next to him were both stuffed into collared shirts to meet the bar dress code. Blonde beefcake 1 looked sheepishly at Bucky. “Is it considered sacrilege to order a beer?”

“Steve! Broaden your tastes a bit.” The long haired guy boomed out in a vague accent, making Bucky chuckle a bit. Steve just looked more sheepish.

“You a whiskey guy? Vodka? Tequila?” Bucky threw the poor guy a line, so he could have something to work with. “Want me to surprise you?”   
  
“Don’t bartenders secretly hate when you ask them to do that?” 

“Hey, I offered.” Bucky shrugged and picked up a shaker and gestured to Steve with it, who nodded. He went to work muddling and mixing and shaking until he finished off with a garnish. “There ya are. Called a southside.”

Steve sipped on it cautiously before pushing the other blonde towards the bar a bit. “Go on Thor. Order up. What was your name again?”   
  
“It’s James.” Bucky didn’t give his nickname out to most patrons. “Pleasure. What can I get for ya big guy?”

“I will have the bees knees!” Thor said, laughing as he did. “I enjoy all these cocktail names very much!”

“All prohibition era accurate.” Bucky grinned as he made Thor’s drink. “Except for the gin of course, we don’t make ours in a bathtub.”

The two happily left sipping their drinks and Bucky wandered back over to Nat, wiping off rings of condensation as he went. “How goes it over here?”   
  
“Oh it’s fine. Met the happy couple.” Natasha’s smile looked a bit like a grimace. “I guess they’re lovely together.”   
  
Bucky just laughed. “Wow must be real lookers to get such a compliment from you.”

“How were the jocks?” She asked after rolling her eyes a bit. Bucky just shrugged. “Here comes another one, go wild Buck.”

Bucky looked over at the third blond jock to come up to his bar that night. Blondie 3 wasn’t as built as Steve and Thor, but his biceps were threatening the sleeves of his open collared shirt. He had several butterfly bandages on his face and his t-shirt was worn enough to almost be see through. Technically Bucky should throw him out for breaking the dress code but the guy’s devil-may-care attitude and casual lean on the bar were really working for him. The guy shamelessly looked him up and down as Bucky walked up.

“Evening. You got Four Roses Reserve?” Blondie 3’s eyes were sharp blue and stood out against his dark purple shirt. Bucky raised an eyebrow and nodded. “I’ll have a double.”

“You’ve got good taste.” Bucky remarked as he pulled the rolling ladder over to climb towards the top shelf whiskeys. “Rocks or neat?”   
  
“You got real rocks or-” He broke off when he saw the judgmental look on Bucky’s face. “Yeah, on the rocks.” He licked his lips a bit. “If you were on the other side of the bar right now, I’d buy you a round too.”

Bucky silently applauded his pouring skills and being able to maintain a straight face as he pushed the short glass over to the chatty blond and poured himself a shot. He lifted his shot glass in a toast and threw it back. 

“Cheers….?”   
  
“Clint. And uh. Cheers.” 

Bucky expected him to walk off and go back to his friends but Clint leaned forward on his forearms and looked at him curiously over the bar. “Steve said your name was James?”    
  
“Yeah.” Bucky hesitated. “My friends call me Bucky, though.” He flushed a bit as he put his used shot glass on the dish rack by his well. “You one of Sharon’s college friends?”   
  
“I knew Maria first but yeah, once they got together we became a weird dysfunctional family of friends.”

Bucky nodded, knowing how that was. It was like him and Nat. “Were you all athletes?”   
  


“Oh god no. I studied animal sciences. I’m a caretaker at the wildlife center.” Clint grinned and pointed to the bandages on his face. “A mama hawk gave me these because I needed to weigh her babies. But they don’t call me hawkguy for nothing.”

Bucky barked out a laugh. Clint’s slapdash energy and enthusiasm were infectious. He kept talking about their college town and their hit or miss success at rec sports and somehow all staying in touch after graduation. Bucky felt himself being drawn back to Clint, who had taken a seat at one of the stools, after every drink he poured. He pointedly ignored Natasha’s raised eyebrows and sideways glances.

“Is she your- uh-” Clint gestured to Natasha with his second round of whiskey. 

“Nat?” Bucky stifled a laugh. “She’s like my sister. Better people than me have tried to romance her but it just ain’ her cup of tea.”

Clint sat back against the rest of his stool, his arms behind his head to accentuate his arms. “Good, because I was gonna feel weird asking you out in front of your girlfriend.” Bucky’s jaw dropped slightly as his eyes just roved over the bulging biceps. “Unless I’m reading this all wrong.”

Bucky looked down a bit. “You aren’t.”   
  
“So. When are you outta here?”   
  
“As soon as you idiots all leave.” Bucky replied with a wink, but he grabbed a piece of receipt paper and scribbled his number onto it. “But I’ll need coffee tomorrow if you’re still interested then.”


End file.
